City council received $717,040 in remuneration, benefits and expenses last year, but that could soon rise significantly.
A staff report publicly released on Friday outlines how much money the mayor and 12 councillors were given during 2021. It comes just three days before council is set to potentially finalize a nearly 25 per cent raise for councillors, with no expectation of additional hours worked.
The elected position is currently considered to be part-time, while the mayor’s role is full-time.
Mayor Cam Guthrie received the most, with $152,500 in remuneration, $14,903 in benefits, $699 for his cell phone and $1,029 for registration/training expenses.
“The mayor's benefits include an annual car allowance of $5,100 and the employer paid matching RRSP contribution,” the report notes.
Each of the city’s 12 councillors were paid $41,412, along with $3,684 in benefits. Cell phone bills varied between $161 and $997.
In a 10-3 decision during this month’s committee of the whole meeting, held March 7, council approved a motion to increase councillor salaries to $51,327 from $41,412 annually, and maintain the mayor’s pay at $152,711.
In making that decision, the committee intentionally avoided labelling councillors as full or part-time, which are generally considered to consist of 20 and 40 hours per week respectively.
A survey of current councillors conducted at the onset of the remuneration review process, which included alterations to ward boundaries, shows they report working “about 78 to 86 hours per month on council business,” states a consultant’s report to council last fall.
“This works out to approximately 20 hours per week. The normal work week is usually considered to be 35 to 40 hours, so this is approximately half the normal work week; however, there are some complications that go along with this,” the report notes. “Councillors can be expected to attend meetings morning, noon and night, and they feel they should be on call any time a constituent needs them.
“Councillors told us that the advent and expansion of social media have complicated their lives considerably.”
Council is set to potentially confirm the committee motion on Monday. If approved, it wouldn’t come into effect until after the Oct. 24 municipal election.
In 2020, council received a collective $707,447 in remuneration and benefits.
